An-22 Antei Cock - Operations

By Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU No. 4-2 of January 3, 1974, the An-22 aircraft was adopted for service.

On 6 October 1973, the countries of Egypt and Syria launched an attack on Israel. The Soviet Union took up the task of resupplying the aggressors in this conflict that became known as the Yom Kippur War. President Richard Nixon vowed U.S. help to the Israelis. The Yom Kippur War ended with a cease fire between the warring nations. Operation Nickel Grass sustained Israel and outperformed the Soviets supply effort to Egypt and Syria. Within seven days of the outbreak of hostilities, Soviet AN-12 and AN-22 transports had delivered approximately 5,000 tons of weapons to Egypt and Syria. Soviet transport aircraft (AN-12 and AN-22) moved total of 15,000 tons of cargo, but only had to cover a distance of 1,700 miles.

The exhaustion of the aircraft (0105, 0106, 0107) service life before the first overhaul in the early 80s posed the task of determining the basis for its implementation. It was decided to master the repair of the An-22 at the Ivanovo military repair enterprise (since 1997 - 308 ARZ), which had previously been engaged in the restoration of the An-2, An-24, An-26 and An-30. In a short time, the plant received repair documentation and increased its production capacity. On January 18, 1983, the first updated Antey (USSR-08822, 0105) was released by this enterprise. A systematic withdrawal of aircraft for repairs began, which in subsequent years, with the accumulation of experience, was reduced to 7-8 months.

A special feature in the biography of "Antey", which showed its new transport capabilities, was its use for transporting on an external sling the center sections and wing consoles of the An-124 "Ruslan" and An-225 "Mriya" aircraft from Tashkent to Kiev, and later to Ulyanovsk Aerodynamic and strength studies have shown that transportation of the center section (special cargo No. 1) and the cantilever part of the wing (special cargo No. 2) can be carried out on an external sling and, therefore, does not require significant modification of the aircraft.

In 1987-1994, six flights were carried out to deliver center wings and consoles for two An-225 models. The practical implementation of this project, designated “Transport,” was preceded by a large amount of calculation and research work on a comparative analysis of land, water and air transportation methods. Air transportation turned out to be optimal, ensuring a high degree of technological completeness of the delivered wing units, their safety and regularity of deliveries. Since the center section was planned to be delivered first, Antey No. 0101 (USSR-46191, later UR-64459) was first modified to transport special cargo No. 1: two front hitch units were installed on its center section in the fairings, and on the fuselage behind the center section - two rear hitch units, connecting them via rods to the cargo compartment floor frame.

The aircraft modified in this way, designated An-22PZ (“Carrier”), flew to Tashkent in July 1980. In the TAPOiCh assembly shop, the center section of the future An-124, equipped with nose and tail fairings, was installed on it. On July 15, this unique transport system departed for Kyiv. The first flight of the An-22PZ was accompanied by more than 100 KMZ specialists. Although the Antey with cargo had been flown around Tashkent the day before, the long-distance flight required courage from the crew, headed by test pilot Ketov. Shortly after takeoff, the plane began to vibrate and then shake. Its intensity was such that the pilots were forced to hold the instrument panels with their feet in order to see the instrument readings. I had to urgently land at a military airfield in Krasnovodsk. After inspecting the aircraft, it was determined that the vibration was caused by a break in the fairings of the front hitch units. After consulting, the Antonovites decided to continue the flight. Having made another stopover in Mozdok, the Carrier landed safely at the airfield in Svyatoshino.

To transport special cargo No. 2, another hitch option was developed. The long console of the "Ruslan" was located along the fuselage of the "Antey" and was attached to its center section, as well as through a system of struts and frames to the floor of the cargo compartment in its bow and tail sections. To increase directional stability, an additional keel was installed on the Carrier - the vertical tail of an An-26 aircraft with a locked rudder. The first transportation of the console was carried out in February 1982.

In 1983, another Antey, the USSR-56391 (0103) vehicle, was modified for the Carrier variant. In the same year, regular flights began to transport An-124 wing units from Tashkent to serial plants in Kyiv and Ulyanovsk, which continued until 1988. In addition, in 1987-1994, six flights were carried out to deliver center wings and consoles for two An-225 copies. The last such flight was made by vehicle No. 0101 (new registration number UR-64459) under the control of the crew of V.A. Samovarov. October 23, 1994. In total, over 14 years of operation, the Carriers performed over 100 flights, proving the versatility of the Antey. For the creation and implementation of this air transport system, a group of KMZ workers was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine in 1985.

On December 13, 1988, during takeoff in Aden (Yemen), the An-22 8th Vtap No. 0509 (USSR-09307) crashed due to premature retraction of the landing gear. This aircraft was restored on site until 1992, then transported to Kyiv, where work was continued. The machine was operated by Antonov Airlines. Aircraft Nos. 0101 and 0103 , and later 0203 and 0509, became an integral part of the Antonov Design Bureau. They tested design improvements, carried out additional tests and carried out transportation necessary for the design bureau.